Visitors Guide to Disney's Hollywood Studios

Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort opened as as Disney-MGM Studios on May 1, 1989. The park welcomed nearly 11 million visitors last year, making it the fourth most-visited park in America and the third busiest at Walt Disney World.
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For more information about Disney's Hollywood Studios, jump to...
- Reader rankings of rides and shows
- What to eat in Disney's Hollywood Studios
- Park map
- Strategy
- Park news
Our recommendations below come from our year-end survey of Theme Park Insider readers. Locations with star ratings ★ ranked especially highly among our readers.
What to Do
Readers' Picks
- Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Trackless dark ride located in Star Wars: Galaxy Edge. Height requirement: 40 inches
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror ★ ★ ★ ★
Indoor drop tower ride located at the end of Sunset Boulevard. Height requirement: 40 inches
- Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway ★ ★ ★
Dark ride located in the Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard
- Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run ★
Motion-base ride located in Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. Height requirement: 38 inches
Other Attractions
Sunset Boulevard
- Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After: Live musical show in the Sunset Showcase Theater. 🎦 Video
- Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith: Indoor Vekoma roller coaster with on-board music, located on Sunset Boulevard. Closes March 1 for a retheme to The Muppets and the Electric Mayhem Band. Height requirement: 48 inches
- Fantasmic!: Nighttime spectacular
Animation Courtyard
- The Little Mermaid - A Musical Adventure: Live musical show. 🎦 Video
Mickey Avenue
- Walt Disney Presents: Walk-through exhibit with the "One Man's Dream" movie about the life of Walt Disney
Toy Story Land
- Toy Story Mania: Interactive dark ride
- Slinky Dog Dash: Mack Rides family roller coaster. Height requirement: 38 inches. 🎦 Video
- Alien Swirling Saucers: Zamperla Carzy Daisy spinner ride. Height requirement: 32 inches. 🎦 Video
Commissary Lane
- Star Tours: The Adventures Continue: "Star Wars"-themed motion-base show. Height requirement: 40 inches
- Mickey Shorts Theater: Movie theater
Echo Lake
- Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular: Live stunt show
Coming Next
- The Walt Disney Studios - A reimagined Animation Courtyard opens in 2026, with an new indoor play area and exhibits celebrating Disney Animation.
- Monstropolis: A new Monsters, Inc.-themed replacement for Muppets Courtyard will include Disney's first suspended coaster, themed to the door warehouse.
Where to Eat
Character dining
- Hollywood & Vine: Buffet with Disney Junior stars at breakfast and Minnie and friends for seasonal dining parties at lunch and dinner. Located at Echo Lake.
Table service
Hollywood Boulevard
- Hollywood Brown Derby: Themed to the classic Hollywood restaurant - the birthplace of the Cobb Salad. Also serving steak, chicken, pork, lamb and fish.
Commissary Lane
- Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant: Burgers, sandwiches and salad. You sit in classic cars while watching a loop of old movie clips.
Echo Lake
- 50's Prime Time Cafe: Diner food, served by a sassy wait staff.
Grand Avenue
- Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano: Italian. This will close May 10 to make way for Monstropolis.
Toy Story Land
- Roundup Rodeo BBQ: Prix fixe barbecue served family style.
Counter service
Hollywood Boulevard
- The Trolley Car Cafe: Starbucks
Commissary Lane
- ABC Commissary: Tacos, salads, sandwiches, including a veggie burger
Echo Lake
- Backlot Express: Burgers, chicken strips, Cuban sandwich, chicken bowl, and salads
- Dockside Diner: Hot dogs
Grand Avenue
- BaseLine Tap House: California wines and beers. Large pretzels and charcuterie, too.
- PizzeRizzo: Pizza and meatball subs. Closes June 7 to make way for Monstropolis.
Sunset Boulevard
- Catalina Eddie's: Pizza and salads
- Fairfax Fare: Beef, chicken, pork, and plant-based bowls
- Rosie's All-American Cafe: Burgers, hot dogs and chicken nuggets
Star Wars Galaxy's Edge
- Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo: Themed beef, pork, chicken, poke, and falafel
- Ronto Roasters: Grilled sausage and plant-based wraps
- Oga's Cantina: Bar
Toy Story Land
- Woody's Lunch Box: Sandwiches and "Totchos" (nacho-style potato barrels)
Buy Tickets
Park Map
Disney's Hollywood Studios is part of the sprawling Walt Disney World Resort, located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida – about 24 miles from Orlando International Airport (MCO).
Note that Disney no longer provides free Disney's Magical Express bus service to and from the Orlando airport for its hotel guests.
If you are renting a car while visiting Orlando, you can save on toll road fees by getting a Visitor Toll Pass at the Orlando airport rather than renting a toll transponder from your rental car company: Toll Discounts Return for Orlando Theme Park Visitors
Best Time to Visit Disney World?
Disney's theme park ticket prices vary by day, so you can use Disney's pricing calendar [scroll down] to see which days have the highest expected crowds. The lower the price for a ticket, the smaller the expected crowd that day.
According to the travel agents at Academy Travel, these are the dates when you will find the lightest crowd levels at the Walt Disney World theme parks in 2026:
- January 12-29
- February 2-5
- April 20-May 2
- May 5-16
- August 24-September 5
- September 8-26
- November 12-20
- December 1-12
On the flip side, large crowds will fill the parks on runDisney weekends:
- January 7-11
- February 26-March 2
- April 16-19
In addition, crowd levels are high during:
- any U.S. holiday week
- President's Day week through Spring Break in mid-April
- first week in November (the infamous "Jersey week")
- the week of Thanksgiving
- from mid-December through early January
Strategy
Before You Go
For assistance in planning a Walt Disney World vacation, please contact our travel agent for a free, no-obligation vacation quote.
Dining reservations can be made via the Disney World website or our travel agent, and each date's reservations open 60 days in advance, at about 5:45am Eastern Time. Disney's on-site hotel guests may make reservations for their entire stay (up to 10 days) starting 60 days before their check-in date. That gives Disney's on-site hotel guests an advantage in making reservations for the most popular restaurants.
Walt Disney World Resort hotel guests may purchase and book line-skipping "Lightning Lane" access for their entire stay (up to 14 days) starting seven days before their arrival. Other theme park guests may book Lightning Lanes up to three days in advance of their visit. Please see The complete guide to Disney's Lightning Lane for more information on this important option.
Itinerary
Disney's hotel guests also get 30 minutes of early access to each of the resort's four theme parks every day. So hotel guests should plan on an early start each morning to take advantage of empty queues. Unfortunately for guests staying off site, this new early admission policy means that they no longer have any opportunity to be the first to enter any Walt Disney World theme park in the morning.
Because Disney's hotel guests slam Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance first thing in the morning, we recommend waiting until later in the evening to ride that attraction - or consider paying for Lightning Lane Single Pass access.
Honestly, this is the one park were we most recommend paying for Lightning Lane access. Slinky Dog Dash often has even worse wait times than Rise, with long wait times also common for Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, Millennium Falcon, Runaway Railway, Toy Story Mania, and Tower of Terror.
If you don't get Lightning Lane, start with Slinky Dog, then go to Runaway Railway. Then look on the Disney World app to find the shortest wait time among Toy Story Mania, Tower of Terror, and Rock 'n' Roller Coaster and do that next. If the times are close, start with Toy Story, then do RnR and ToT. Save Rise for late in the day, aiming to arrive to that queue around 6-7pm, and after riding Millennium Falcon.